Sunday, July 11, 2010

Holy Smoke launches new space, live entertainment

Holy Smoke sous chef Preston Mobley serves up a pulled pork sandwich with a side of baked beans.

Holy Smoke Heavenly Barbecue and Better Burgers will host a grand reopening — feature a brand new pool hall, arcade and live entertainment by Jeff Long — on Friday, July 16.

“There’s not a lot of live entertainment on the islands and because Chadwick’s Square is already open to the public, we’re just expanding upon Holy Smoke,” said Carolyn Hudson, Director of Communications and Community Relations for South Seas Island Resort. “We’re creating nightlife. It’s going to be a great place for kids, teens, adults and families to get great meals and great entertainment.”

Starting on July 16, entertainer Jeff Long will begin nightly performances from 6 to 11 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays until Labor Day.

Long, originally from Little Rock, Ark., has been a professional musician for more than 45 years and boasts a diverse and extensive repertoire consisting of thousands of songs from a wide variety of genres and popular music.

“Jeff is amazing. He’s a performer’s performer and he’s extremely interactive with the crowd. His tag line is, ‘If you can say it, I can play it.’ So if somebody screams out the title of a song, he’ll just start playing it,” Hudson said, noting that Long will also provide accompaniment for those that are brave enough to karaoke.

Long comes to Holy Smoke through Amy Morgan of Thank You for the Dance Entertainment.

The new pool hall, adjacent to the original Holy Smoke building, will also feature a full bar, an arcade, a dance floor, stage and the only public pool tables on the island — and of course, dining space to enjoy Holy Smoke’s divine menu of barbecue cuisine.

“I’m very excited,” said Holy Smoke Sous Chef Preston Mobley. “This is a process that has been going on for about a year and a half. When we first opened, this was our intention — things got pushed around a bit — but now we’re going to proceed with our plans. This is one of our biggest projects and it really gives Holy Smoke the opportunity to really reach its full potential. For me, it was really a blessing to see this blossom,” Mobley said.

When Holy Smoke first opened in August of 2008, the resort wasn’t sure how well a barbecue restaurant would do on Captiva.

“We realized that there really isn’t any other barbecue restaurant on Captiva or Sanibel. And the techniques that Preston uses — which are really from the south and use a real smoker grill — makes it some of the best barbecue you can get. We call them our ‘better burgers’ because they are the best burgers,” Hudson said.

Throughout the week, Holy Smoke will also offer a daily special — everything from 50 cent wings to $9 bucket of beer.
Holy Smoke will also be running special redemption advertisements encouraging people to come into the new space between the hours of 6 and 11 p.m. and use their redemption tickets for things like $5 worth of free tokens or a free pitcher of beer.
“The new Holy Smoke is just one more thing South Seas has to offer to the public — the circus acts from Russia and Chadwick’s Square bringing on the Kay Casperson Spa, Giggles and Captiva Blooms. Chadwick’s Square is really becoming the public space we always dreamed it could be. There’s something for everyone,” Hudson said.
The new Holy Smoke addition will officially open on Friday, July 16, at 6 p.m. with a live performance by Jeff Long.
But if you just can’t wait until dinner time to sample some of Holy Smoke’s spectacular food, the restaurant is always open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
For more information about the new Holy Smoke, call 472-7559.
By JANE BRICKLEY

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